Coulthard takes maiden V8 Supercars win in Race 1

Fabian Coulthard and Jason Bright continued BJR’s strong 2013 form in Race 1

Brad Jones Racing has carried on its dominant form at Albert Park, with Fabian Coulthard leading home team-mate Jason Bright for a one-two finish in Race 1 of the weekend.

Coulthard made the most of his pole position to lead the opening laps, but an early Safety Car as the compulsory pitstop cycle was unfolding soon gave the order a minor shakeup.

Shane van Gisbergen and Jason Bright were two of six drivers that were yet to pit when the yellows were called, and subsequently returned to the track ahead of Coulthard.

The Lockwood Holden asserted its authority after the restart, quickly moving by Bright before eventually taking Van Gisbergen with just two laps remaining.

Van Gisbergen pulled into pitlane with a broken gearbox soon after losing the lead, leaving the Kiwi to start Race 2 from 26th.

Will Davison took third behind the two BJR Holdens, while Jamie Whincup survived last lap contact with team-mate Craig Lowndes for fourth.

Lowndes slid from third to fifth on the final lap as his rear tyres went away, leaving the Red Bull Holden to only narrowly edge out Mark Winterbottom and Scott McLaughlin.

Coulthard leads out of Turn1

James Moffat and Rick Kelly put in strong performances for Nissan Motorsport in eighth and 10th respectively, split by Garth Tander’s Holden Racing Team Commodore.

Alex Premat’s Fujitsu Holden was the cause of the Lap 3 Safety Car – the Frenchman colliding with a defensive Lee Holdsworth at Turn 1 after exiting pitlane. The contact sent Premat into the concrete wall on the outside of the circuit.

The #34 Holden will not return to the track for the three remaining races.

There had also been carnage on the opening lap, with Tony D’Alberto spinning Michael Caruso amid a three-wide squeeze at Turn 3, scattering the pack in the process.

D’Alberto failed to finish due to the damage sustained to his Holden. Caruso recovered to ensure all four Nissans finished in the top 16.

Holdsworth was the best of the Mercedes entries in 19th despite his collision with Premat.

Having been excluded from qualifying for causing an incident with Premat, Jonny Reid’s weekend didn’t get much better in Race 1. The Dick Johnson Racing Falcon finished in 25th and last position after a mid-race tangle with Scott Pye.

The second of four races for the weekend will get underway at 1420 local time, with the grid set by the Race 1 finishing order.

UPDATE: Winterbottom was dropped to 25th in the result due to an unsafe pit release, while D’Alberto has been deducted 15 points for causing the opening lap incident.

V8 Supercars Race 1

Pos

Team

Driver

Car

Best Lap

1

Lockwood Racing

Fabian Coulthard

Holden Commodore VF

1:57.1541*

2

Team BOC

Jason Bright

Holden Commodore VF

1:57.3077

3

Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford

Will Davison

Ford Falcon FG

1:57.4978

4

Red Bull Racing Australia

Jamie Whincup

Holden Commodore VF

1:57.8713

5

Red Bull Racing Australia

Craig Lowndes

Holden Commodore VF

1:57.3918

6

Fujitsu Racing GRM

Scott McLaughlin

Holden Commodore VF

1:58.0275

7

Pepsi Max Crew FPR Ford

Mark Winterbottom

Ford Falcon FG

1:57.9921

8

Norton 360 Racing

James Moffat

Nissan Altima

1:57.8648

9

Holden Racing Team

Garth Tander

Holden Commodore VF

1:58.4969

10

Jack Daniel’s Racing

Rick Kelly

Nissan Altima

1:58.7437

11

Holden Racing Team

James Courtney

Holden Commodore VF

1:58.4211

12

Jack Daniel’s Racing

Todd Kelly

Nissan Altima

1:58.8783

13

Tekno Autosports

Jonathon Webb

Holden Commodore VF

1:58.3736

14

The Bottle-O FPR Ford

David Reynolds

Ford Falcon FG

1:58.5974

15

Wilson Security Racing

Tim Blanchard

Ford Falcon FG

1:59.0548

16

Norton 360 Racing

Michael Caruso

Nissan Altima

1:59.4228

17

Supercheap Auto Racing

Russell Ingall

Holden Commodore VF

1:59.5918

18

Dodo Insurance Racing

Dean Fiore

Holden Commodore VF

1:59.2464

19

Irwin Racing

Lee Holdsworth

Mercedes E63 AMG

1:59.3442

20

Wilson Security Racing

David Wall

Holden Commodore VF

1:59.2732

21

Jeld-wen FPR Ford

Alex Davison

Ford Falcon FG

1:59.4059

22

ekol Racing

Scott Pye

Holden Commodore VF

1:59.7026

23

Heavy Haulage Australia Racing

Tim Slade

Mercedes E63 AMG

1:59.3380

24

SP Tools Racing

Maro Engel

Mercedes E63 AMG

2:00.5572

25

Wilson Security Racing

Jonny Reid

Ford Falcon FG

1:59.6942

DNF

TEKNO Team VIP

Shane Van Gisbergen

Holden Commodore VF

1:57.3301

DNF

Fujitsu Racing GRM

Alexandre Premat

Holden Commodore VF

3:00.6720

DNF

Team HIFLEX

Tony D’Alberto

Holden Commodore VF

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